A new head coach will lead the North Putnam girl's soccer team into the season this year, as Jacob Bender is looking to put his stamp on a program that finished 3-13-1 a year ago. 

"I'm trying to create a program with a positive culture and good atmosphere. I believe we can achieve that this year and I’m very excited to work with this group of girls," Bender told The Putnam County Post.

The Cougars enjoyed a strong offseason with hopes of being ready for the season opener Aug. 14 at Owen Valley. 

"The off-season was very positive. Everyone that was involved in the off-season impressed me. We built off of concrete fundamentals and communication each day," Bender said. 

Bender said it will be tough to replace last year's seniors. "It’s always hard to replace seniority. We lost key senior athletes that were strong leaders in the team. I have faith that our new seniors will be good leaders for the next class of players," Bender said.

With that said, he is excited about this year's roster, but opted not to single out players, noting it has been a "collective" effort.  

"Each player I have impresses me each day. I’m so glad to have such a talented group of girls. We have a strong collective team spirit and that comes from each of my players thinking of the team over individual stats," he said. 

With the season rapidly approaching, Bender said his main goal heading into the season is to keep the love of the sport within the North Putnam community. 

"I hope that the team enjoys being together and from that we can achieve the results we want," Bender said. 

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